{"id":8837,"date":"2019-05-10T10:56:36","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T08:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newinsights.oeb.global\/?p=8837"},"modified":"2022-01-20T11:53:35","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T09:53:35","slug":"to-improve-education-focus-on-pedagogy-not-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/oeb-insights\/to-improve-education-focus-on-pedagogy-not-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"To Improve Education \u2013 Focus on Pedagogy Not Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an exciting time for technology in education. Global tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft are promoting adaptive teaching systems <\/strong>to give each student a personal tutor that responds to their personal needs and ability<\/strong><\/a>. Machine learning systems can analyze data from online learning platforms to <\/strong>predict a student\u2019s future performance<\/strong><\/a>. Virtual reality offers alternative worlds of <\/strong>historical re-enactment<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>scientific wonder<\/strong><\/a>. Even drones have been recruited to the <\/strong>teaching of geography<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong>

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But technology alone won\u2019t solve the deep problems of education. The reason is simple. What thrives in the lab rarely survives in the jungle of a school classroom or university lecture hall. Adaptive learning systems may work for a week or so, but students soon get bored with mechanised tutors and teachers struggle to cope with students progressing at different paces. Predicting future performance through machine learning is fine, but how do you use the results? What do you tell a student who is predicted to fail the next exam? Virtual reality is a cool device for an inspiring lesson, but how does a school or university cope with a cupboard full of virtual reality headsets, all needing to be untangled and charged ready for use? And how do you manage a class of students stumbling around with their heads in VR boxes, or waiting in line for their turn to view ancient Rome?

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 40 years of technologies for learning \u2013 educational television, language labs, classroom response systems, programmable robots \u2013 the only specifically educational technology that is widespread in schools is the electronic whiteboard. A review of evidence for interactive whiteboards<\/a> (IWB) in schools found that they may alter how teaching happens in school classrooms and may increase the motivation of teachers and student, but the studies of IWB show \u201cno significant or measurable impact on achievement\u201d. The most important piece of technology for schools over the past decade is not improving students\u2019 performance. However, the report concludes<\/a> that \u201cin the hands of a teacher who is interested in developing the independent<\/a>, creative, thinking skills of their students, (the IWB) will be used to further these purposes \u2026 It\u2019s not what you use, it\u2019s how you use it.\u201d

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not what you use, it\u2019s how you use it. We need to focus on how teachers use technology, not just the technology alone. The key to this is pedagogy. By \u2018pedagogy\u2019, I mean the theory and practice of teaching, learning and assessment. A teacher with effective pedagogy can make a success from even the most mundane technology, or no technology at all.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now know far more than we did even 10 years ago about which teaching and learning methods are successful. Here\u2019s a quiz for you. Which of the following study approaches are effective (yes, all of them can work in some contexts, but which ones are generally useful)? The answer is at the end of this article (for the evidence, see \u2018Learning the Smart Way<\/a>\u2019 by Paul Kirschner and Mirjam Neelan).
<\/p>\n\n\n\n